by the Quebec Jockey Club

Trois-Rivieres, PQ — Louis-Philippe Roy, now the leading money winning driver in all of Canada this season and second in dash victories, returns to the Hippodrome 3R (H3R) this Sunday (May 28) competing in eight of the 10 races. It was just two weeks ago that Roy set the track record at H3R, winning eight races on the program, surpassing Yannick Gingras’s prior record of six wins set in 2013.

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Louis-Philippe Roy returns to H3R after winning a record-breaking eight races two weeks ago.

Roy is traveling throughout Canada to compete, driving at two and three tracks weekly. This week he is competing at Mohawk Raceway, Western Fair Raceway and at H3R.

It will be difficult for Roy to repeat his eight wins from two weeks ago on Sunday, but he is listed on the two big favorites in the third round of the Quebec Bred Series for 4-and 5-year-old pacing mares and horses.

This is the final preliminary round and after Sunday, the eight top point earners in the series will return on Sunday (June 11) for the C$30,000 finals in their respective divisions.

The older horses take center stage first in the fifth race with eight starters headlined by Half A Billion, who is seeking to make a clean sweep of the series. Two weeks ago, Roy won with Half A Billion in a romp by six open lengths. Last week it was driver Francis Picard winning with Half A Billion by 2-1/2 lengths.

This week Half A Billion starts from the rail with Roy back in the sulky, the one post position is usually not an advantage with the 5-year-old gelding son of Sportswriter as he is not a strong leaver. Thus, the race shapes up to be a close contest with last year’s 3-year-old champion, HP Patriote, drawing a good inside position in post three.

Also in the hunt with be the two full brothers, Mach On The Beach (post four) and Mr Match On Beach (post eight), who have been second and third to Half A Billion the last two weeks. Other contenders include Sugarsam (post seven) and Sports Authority (post five).

The mares are in the spotlight in the eighth race where Roy is back driving HP Sissy, who has also won the first two legs of the series. Last week she won with Guy Gagnon in the sulky by 6-1/4 lengths and has drawn post five on Sunday.

Her stablemate and racing as part of an entry, is HP Pandora from post three for driver Stephane Brosseau. Another rival, Wanda Bayama, starts inside of them in post two for driver/trainer and Hall of Famer, Yves Filion.

Other contenders include Skyfall Sena (post seven) who was second to HP Sissy last week and HP Mercedes (post one), who was third in last week’s race.

In the ninth race Invitational Pace, Roy had his choices of driving Code Word (post eight), who has won the last two week or Royal Kee Wee N (post three), who two starts back gave Roy his eighth winner on his record setting day at H3R.

But Roy has remained faithful to the owners who supported him since he first started driving back in 2014 and will drive Iron Phil from post two. Ironically, it was owner/trainer Nathalie Migneault and co-owner Eric Dechamplain, who gave Roy the first winning drive of his career back on Aug. 1, 2014 at Woodstock Racecourse in New Brunswick, on none other than Iron Phil and Roy has remained faithful to that stable.

TRACK NOTES: Sunday’s program features five Quebec Bred Series champions. They are Sugarsam (2015), Mr Mach Jimmy (2015), Miss Babe Delight (2015), HP Patriote (2016) and HP Sissy (2016).

H3R adds live racing starting this Tuesday (May 30) with first race post time at 7 pm. The opening night program has nine races headlined by the opening round of the C$100,000 Quebec-Bred Series for 4- and 5-year-old trotting mares and horses.

For more information, visit www.quebecjockeyclub.com.